Wolf
by Dreamer-MRAF
Summary: Wolf isn't normal - he's not even normal for a mutant. But he planned to keep that a secret. Too bad that didn't work out too well. Now he has people he can trust, but what happens when an old friend comes back from the dead on the wrong side of the war?
1. Chapter One

Uhm...hi. I know that alot of people have seen this story before, but it's completely revised and minus forty or so pages of pure crap. So, please review - I really want to know what people think. I have several more chapter written, and I will put them up as soon as I get some reviews.

I don't really mind flames, but please make sure they're relevant to the story, and not because you don't like me. This chapter is shorter than most of the others, and I generally have 1,00 word chapters. I don't have the patience to write chapter longer than that XP. So please forgive me on that matter.

**Chapter One: Wolf**

The buzzer sounded and I started running. I didn't want to but there were idiot wolf-men with wicked claws and horrible grins right behind me. I ran out into the yard and looked up at the open sky. My first sight of it since I'd been re-captured a month ago. There was a growl of frustration behind me and I ran faster. I looked over my shoulder and saw one of the Erasers holding the others back. Giving me a head start. Like that would help me any.

The door led into a corridor of razor wire and I sprinted through it, the cruel barbs only inches from my sweaty face. There was a barked command from behind me and the Erasers started running. No! I went faster. Faster than I thought I could ever go before. The Erasers were gaining on me though, some of them looking just like regular people and some fully morphed and running on all fours. And to think I used to like wolves.

The razor wire stopped at about 20 feet up, but there was no way I could climb over it, the Erasers were too close anyway. An Eraser snapped at my heel then dropped back, toying with me; I poured on the speed but the Erasers kept pace easily, hardly breaking a sweat. The razor wire fence came to a dead end, a literal _dead_ end. _Who'd build a corridor that's a dead end? _I thought angrily. I knew who. The load of sicko scientists that had been holding me captive for the past 12 years. They didn't want to trap me though. Oh no, they had something far worse in mind.

I looked down at my hands, knowing that there were three ways to get out of this mess. One: Give up. Two: Turn around and fight 'till one of the scientists decided that I was no longer needed. Or three: Fly.

I'd never give up. I was outnumbered twenty to one. That left one option.

I let out an animal-like cry and let my instincts take over all the way. Without thinking, I unfurled my huge wings, leaping up in an effort to rise. I gasped as the wind caught me and lifted me upwards.

No matter how much I hated what the scientists had done to me, my first taste of flight, and freedom, was amazing. Sudden, fierce, barking laughs brought me back to reality. I turned my head, seeing the Erasers unfurl their own wings. Like theirs, mine were as black as the night sky above me, and just as silent. One shot upwards, leveling the playing field.

"C'mon, Mutt. The fun's just getting started!" Ari laughed, halfway through his morph. A growl rumbled up from somewhere deep in my chest.

"My name's Wolf." I snapped, turning away and sweeping my powerful wings downwards. He grinned, showing incredibly long fangs. My blood ran cold as he came closer. I'd never even flown before. Could I really escape? Maybe I should just give up. At least I wouldn't know what was happening to me. I'd just turn into one of _them_.

"Just give up. It'll be painless." That sped my decision up a whole lot.

"I'll never give up! Not now, not ever!" I yelled, trying my best to get away. Ari's evil grin vanished. With a snarl, he slashed at me, catching my shoulder. I cried out, flapping hard to stay airborne. Blood dripped down my arm, soaking my black T-shirt. I had been lucky not to have to wear the disgusting night-gowns. I was shaking, I realized through the pain. They had ruined twelve years of my life. They had turned me and many others into monsters, and had gotten away with it. Would keep getting away with it. Something in me snapped right then.

I lunged forward, hitting Ari in the chest with a kick that would have broken ribs on a non-mutant human. It only took his breath away. Knowing that I had a matter of seconds before the other dog-boys decided to close in, I high-tailed it out of there. I was dripping blood, but all the same; I was leaving The School behind. But the memories stayed with me. I had a sickening feeling they always would.

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Review please?

-Dreamer


	2. Chapter Two

Thank you for the first review, juniper294. Feels good. Anyway, here's the second chapter. Have fun.

Just a quickie - Wolf is a guy. I remember someone asking me about that last time. It was supposed to be obvious, but since I'm a girl, you can't be too sure that you're getting the point across. XP.

**Chapter Two**

I yawned, mentally reprimanding myself for forgetting about breakfast. My stomach growled loudly, as if to remind me that it hadn't forgiven me. I rolled over in mid-air, catching a rising updraft and coasting.

I had been flying all night, and I was running on empty. I could see a McDonald's below me, but I didn't have any money. With my raptor-like vision, I zeroed in on a worker leaving through the back door. He dumped food into a garbage can and left, pulling out of the parking lot in his ragged old car.

Seeing my chance, I folded my wings and dropped. Straight down. I sliced through the air like a knife, going too fast to be seen as more than a feathery blur. This also meant I was going too fast to stop. Uh oh. I threw my wings out at the last minute, letting out a yell as my muscles screamed in protest. Note to self: Don't _ever_ do that again.

I hit the ground hard, bending my knees to absorb the impact. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, and I landed on my left shoulder; the same one that Ari had nearly ripped to ribbons. I bit my lip to stop the yell of pain from welling up inside me. _Suck it up, Wolf!_

Standing, I felt warm blood starting to seep through my fingers. I needed help, and fast. I was fine before, but being as stupid as I was, I had re-opened the slicing wound, and it was worse. For a second, I lost my balance and staggered forward. Hunger and blood loss weren't a good combination. Gritting my teeth, I ignored the pain long enough to pull my wings in.

I wasn't sure how, but my wings all but disappeared. I could hide them under a big T-shirt if I wanted to. I tried going forwards, but that didn't work very well. My head was spinning so fast, I nearly threw up. Was this going to be the end of me? Would I die in the parking lot of a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere?

My last thought was rather stupid, _I wonder if I'll be normal after I die..._

* * *

"He's lost a lot of blood!" I heard someone yelling. _Shut up._ I tried to tell them. _I'm trying to sleep. _My mouth didn't respond. It was like my gears and cogs wouldn't mesh together and work. My brain felt fried.

I cracked open an eye, glaring out at the world. Holy crap. I closed it quickly, hoping it was all a nightmare. Was I back at the School? It sure smelled like it...antiseptic and too-clean.

No, it was different. Those halls had reeked of death and despair. These were full of hope. Suffocatingly full of it. I opened my eyes again, aware of someone's gaze. A nurse looked down at me, holding a needle.

"Aah!" I struggled to sit up. I wasn't going to let her get anywhere near me. Especially not with that thing.

I felt strong arms grab me from behind and let out a snarl as my shoulder strained. "Calm down." A deep voice commanded. I shut up. It wasn't like an Eraser's voice. They sounded like poisoned honey. His tone was sharp, and that just added fuel to the fire. I wriggled, trying to free myself of his grasp. "We're going to anesthetize you so we can sew up that shoulder of yours. I suggest you calm down."

I growled as the nurse came forward, looking as scared as I felt. But my eyes were only for the needle. It didn't really even hurt. Then again, I couldn't tell for sure. By that time, I was out cold. Whether it was fear or the anesthetic, I wasn't sure.

This time, when I opened my eyes, most of my brain was still asleep. I saw the white, smelled the clean and adrenaline was racing through my veins before you could yell "What the hell?!" I looked up to see a man watching me and making notes on a clipboard.

I summoned up my voice, wondering what they had done to me. "Who…who are you?"

He examined me over his glasses, a friendly expression on his face. "I think the better question is, who are _you_? More exactly, _what_ are you?" The muscles in my jaw tightened; a reflex action. I was getting out of here, now. While he was still watching my face, I carefully made sure I wasn't attached to the bed or anything and waited for him to look down.

As soon as he did, I was off like a shot. Thank god I still had my shoes, 'cause I really wasn't thinking about it then.

I didn't even care about the bandaging around my shoulder. It was only after I had run past the confused nurses and out of the double doors that I really brought myself around. Just as a silver jeep came careening around the corner. I heard yells behind me, but hospital staff wasn't a problem compared to what was right in front of me.

Crap.

Double crap. Ari had just stepped out of his sleek silver jeep. Either he had a personal vendetta against me, or nothing better to do. Young men in their early twenties started spewing out through all the entrances. I swear I saw one climb out a window, too. How the heck did they manage to fit all those wolf-men into one jeep? My panic sense kicked in somewhere around then.

"Holy—" I didn't finish my sentence. My breathing quickened and I knew that the only way to fight them properly was...to _become_ them. "No..." I whispered. I didn't want to have to do this. I wasn't one of them, and I never would be!

With some of their signature evil barking laughs, they advanced, closing in as a semi-circle. I backed up, only to hit a wall. I swallowed, unwilling to take the bait. I didn't care if my pride would kill me. I wouldn't sink to their level.

In a manner of speaking...as they were all a little taller than me. All the kids with wings were tall, but I was 5' 11" at 12 years old. I could kick normal human butt. This...led back to my problem. They weren't normal humans. I may have been strong, but not strong enough to take on all thirty or so at once. Ari closed in, snapping his jaws together with an audible click.

"We just want to help you!" he said in a mocking growl, his horrid fangs inches away from my face.

"Right. When pigs fly." I paused, spitting into his face. "Oh, I'm sorry. Looks like they already do!" I growled, hoping he'd let me go by accident.

His expression went blank, but once he'd realized that I had insulted him, he rearranged his face in monstrous anger. Oh...bad! Crap. Before I could move, he swung a huge, hairy paw at my head. It connected with a thud.

I was dazed. I was even seeing the little stars. Actually, my vision was kind of spotty for a minute. It took me a moment to resurface. I didn't feel as much pain as I normally would, and that worried me. Was I becoming like them? Would I finally give in to the bloodlust that was clawing at me from the inside? I chose not to answer myself.

By the time his foot came around, I was ready. I caught it and twisted it. Ari grinned, turned, and kicked me anyway...Backwards. I doubled over, my stomach tight with pain. I waited for the last blow, the one that would send me flying off the cliff into the dark abyss below.

It never came.

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I LOVE reviews. So to make me happy, you should review!

-Dreamer


	3. Chapter Three

More reviews would be much appreciated. Sigh. That's okay though, I write so people have something (hopefully) good to read, not so my head can get bigger.

Anyway, enjoy.

**Chapter Three**

I looked up in time to see someone let loose a powerful roundhouse kick straight at Ari's chin. I nearly laughed, but ended up coughing. My shoulder burned, and without my willpower holding them in, my dark wings exploded out of my back in a rush of feathers.

When I had recovered enough to straighten up, I saw a flash of blonde hair. A girl around my age was kicking Ari's butt! I joined the fight, throwing myself in and taking down as many as I could. I was in and out in a flash. They didn't even have time to react to my kicks and punches. After all, I had trained with the best.

I could tell Blondie wasn't alone. I could feel a guy next to me somewhere, one in front, and another behind me. There were two other girls, too.

Suddenly, I saw Blondie held by the wrists, flailing against Ari's hold. Silently, I spun, watching him drop as my foot connected with his temple. She looked up, rubbed her wrists and nodded. She flashed me a quick smile, "Thanks, Fang."

I frowned. "What the heck?" She looked me in the eye, and then gasped. It took her a moment to regain movement, but she was looking at me weird. I think it may have been the big black wings.

* * *

When the last of the Erasers dove into the jeep, I turned back to the other people. "Thanks." Then I saw her glance from my eyes to my hair to my wings, and then finally, she looked at a guy standing next to her.

I blinked. It was like looking into a mirror. The other kid blinked too. I narrowed my eyes, and so did he.

"Who are you?" Blondie asked, still kind of astonished. To tell you the truth, I think it was worse for me. It feels odd to meet someone who could have been your identical twin. I glanced over at him again, just as he did the same. His eyes were...brown. Mine were a dark blue. I still didn't answer the question. I wasn't sure if I could trust them.

The little girl spoke up. She had bright blue eyes and curly hair. "His name is Wolf, Max. He doesn't know who we are and doesn't know if we can be trusted." She stopped, frowning. "There's something else...Gimme a second..."

She was reading my mind! I quickly blocked everything, putting up as solid a wall as I could. Blondie, whose name was apparently Max, laughed. "Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you." She told me.

I grinned wryly, "Yeah, well, that's what _they_ said, too." I said, gesturing at the jeep that was speeding away. She laughed again.

"Anyway, you don't need to hide the wings. You're not the only one who escaped from that place." Saying this, she showed me her own wings, and the others followed suit. They were all different colors. The one who looked like me had the same wing color; dark as feathers can get, but mine were longer and designed for speed, rather than grace.

I think I was almost as tall as him too. At least I got some satisfaction out of that. The little girl, I had seen before. I wasn't sure when, but when I remembered the mind-reading I realized she was the _one_. The only experiment who could actually tap into other people's thoughts.

Her name was...Angel. It suited her, too. Her wings were the purest of whites and her curly blonde hair and blue eyes were striking. She fit the adorable little girl category nicely.

_Adorable_? Since when did _that_ word appear in my vocabulary?

* * *

"How did you get out?"

I looked at Max, then back at Fang. They didn't trust me, I could tell. "They didn't think I would fly." I said, wondering if that was the truth.

Fang broke in suddenly, "Why do you look like me?"

I shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? Maybe we're cousins." Yeah, right. And Justin Timberlake was my uncle twice removed. "Where are you guys going?" They didn't look aimless, like me. Well, I had a goal: Get away from Erasers. Does that count?

The two shared a look before Max answered. "South," she said vaguely. A little _too_ vaguely.

I saw the little blonde one – _Angel_, I reminded myself – bounding up. "Can we keep him, Max? _Please_?"

I blinked. What was I? A stray? Max threw me an apologetic look before shaking her head. Angel would not take no for an answer, and even as Fang took off; the six year old continued to pester Max. "Why not? He has nowhere to go, anyway!"

I winced. Well, it _was_ true.

"Why is your name Wolf?" It was Nudge. She hadn't stopped questioning me since we had taken off. Max said I could come...wherever they were going. I wasn't sure that I liked being a tag-along, but it certainly wasn't horrible to be able to talk to someone other than a stupid dog-boy.

"Why's your name Nudge?" We'd been at it for a while, and my shoulder was killing me again. I probably should have stayed at the hospital long enough to grab some painkillers. Oh well.

My wings beat on their own, in rhythm with the chatterbox flying beside me. It was weird; I didn't have to think about it, it just happened. I could stop them, but I didn't need to remind myself to adjust the tips of my feathers to catch the wind and turn slightly. Let me tell you, it was cool.

Scratch that. It was _cold_. I was freezing. If you thought it was cold on the ground in the morning, try going a couple miles; straight up. It looked beautiful, but it was nature's own torture. I shivered, refusing to hug myself. It may have been stupid, but there was no way I'd do that.

Suddenly, I saw something drop out of the corner of my eye. Turning around, I saw a flash of white going straight down. Angel? "Uh...Nudge?" I called, pointing.

Nudge's eyes widened and she shrieked "MAX!" at the top of her lungs. She turned – too slowly, I thought – and dove after her. But Angel was already a good distance down, and still picking up speed.

She sped up, going so fast she was a tan and white blur. _Whoa._ I thought I was the only one that could go that fast! At last, she caught up, scooping Angel into her arms and shooting back up to join the rest of her flock.

Nudge started laughing. Apparently Angel was asleep.

* * *

Do I even have to ask?

-Dreamer


	4. Chapter Four

Review or die. I know that at least ten people read the last chapter. And one person reviewed.

It only takes a minute. Please?

**Chapter Four**

"Max, I'm hungry! Can we go to like, a fancy restaurant? 'Cause I'm starving, and restaurants are soo cool." Nudge turned to me instead, realizing that Max was deep in conversation with Fang.

She lowered her voice to a whisper, "You know, I think they should get together, they're perfect for each other. Max is beautiful and strong, and she deserves someone as cool as Fang." She paused to take a breath. "But that would be really weird 'cause you look just like Fang. Wha-"

I clamped my hand over her mouth, sitting up precariously on my branch. We were all perched in different trees, but Nudge decided to sit on the branch above me.

She. Would. Not. Shut. Up.

It was like having a constant radio next to my ear. Scratch that. It was like having fifty radios talking simultaneously all around me. She had talked about the color of the sky, how bananas taste, and everything in between.

God save me.

"Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy." Max called. I stayed where I was. I wasn't sure if I was welcome to join. Shifting against the smooth bark behind me, I pulled in my wings completely, resting my back against the tree. Nudge dropped to my branch, then glided over to where Max and Fang were.

Her wings were a shade of tawny that I had never seen before. Combined with her dark hair and skin, she looked sort of exotic in the dying light. It made me a tiny bit jealous. I just looked like an overgrown freak.

Watching them curiously, I locked my fingers behind my head. The Flock stacked their fists and tapped them. Some kind of ritual. There was a sudden twinge somewhere around my ribcage and I suppressed an automatic shut-down. _Not here. Not now._

I looked up at the sky as Nudge said goodnight and came back to her branch near my head. It was silent, except for a murmured conference between Angel and their –get this- _talking_ dog, Total. Their goodnight ritual reminded me of my sister.

I nearly lost it right then. She was the one thing that kept me going most of the time. She was a lot like Max. I think that's what made me want to stay. They'd named her Mutt. She had been a test, to see if they could make better Erasers. But like me, she had known what was happening and didn't want it.

"Thinking about something?" Nudge's whisper broke through my thoughts. A scowl crossed my face, but it wouldn't stick. I glanced at her. She was staring peacefully up through the leaves. A ray of moonlight fell across her face, lighting up her eyes.

"My sister." I answered, closing my eyes and letting out a deep breath.

"You have a sister?"

I took another deep breath and ignored the churning in my stomach. "Had. I _had_ a sister."

"Oh." She stopped, speechless for once. "I'm sorry..." she said quietly, looking down. I could see the pain in her eyes. She knew death as well as I did.

I caught her gaze. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

She blinked, "What happened?" Then she put a hand over her own mouth, stunned that she had said that. "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to-"

I laughed softly, seeing her expression. "It's ok. I learned how to deal with it." It was true. I knew how to handle it now. After a second, I continued to talk. "When we were taken from the orphanage, she was three. I was one. I don't remember anything, but she told me what she knew.

I had dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was pretty much the opposite. She had really dark hair that fell to below her shoulders and bright green eyes. I used to believe that she was the most beautiful person in the universe."

Nudge shot me a glance, taking in my olive skin, dark, almost black hair, and dark blue eyes.

"For awhile, they didn't tamper with our DNA at all. They would take us out of our cages for tests and draw our blood. They'd make us run through mazes and solve problems to earn our meals." I felt Nudge shudder, rather than see it.

"Keep going." she whispered. I could almost feel the horror that arose in her at just the _memory_ of the White Coats. Almost.

"One day they took her out and she didn't come back for ages. I thought she was dead. About a month later, they threw something into the cage with me.

_I backed up against the cage wall, terrified._

_The creature growled and snapped its jaws at the scientists, who locked the cage door and backed away. It turned to me and came closer. I had no where to go. The cage wall was at my back and I couldn't fight an animal, no matter how many fights I had already been in._

'_Hey, it's me!'_

_It was my sister. She had silvery fur all over her body, but her arms still ended in hands. She had an elongated nose and flashing fangs. _

'_What did they do to you?' _"

I stopped talking, feeling a knot in my stomach.

"Did they turn her into an Eraser?" Nudge asked me, confused.

"They tried." I explained. "A couple weeks after she had been brought back, a full grown Eraser opened the cage and grabbed us both. We fought him. She even bit him, but he didn't notice.

"We were brought to the yard. The one where the Erasers were trained to take down their prey. They put her behind a swinging door and pressed a button.

_A buzzer went off, and the gate shot open. Katie leaped out and started running, only a few strides in front of the blood-thirsty wolf-men behind her. She had almost made it to the other end when one came out in front of her._

_I was forced to watch as she fought them off for a while. I closed my eyes as they closed in on her, growling and foaming at the mouth._

_Then they took me to a lab room. I didn't even fight. They shot me full of something, and I was out cold in seconds. When I woke up, I had wings and I looked like this._" That wasn't exactly the whole truth, but it was close enough. Seeing how much the Flock hated Erasers and White Coats...well, I didn't want them to see me like they did one of _them_.

Nudge was silent. It was probably a first for her...or maybe a second...

"I'm sorry if I dumped all of this on you..." I said, hoping that she wasn't going to be scared of me or something.

"No. It's alright..." she said quietly. "I'm glad you told me." A funny feeling lifted off me. It was weird, but I recognized it as relief. It felt good to talk to another…semi-human being.

* * *

REVIEW. JUST CLICK THE STUPID PURPLE BUTTON.

-Dreamer


	5. Chapter Five

This is all stuff I wrote a long time ago and didn't edit as much as I should, so if you see any obvious errors, let me know. XD.

Thanks for the review, to the kind person (singular, sadly) that did review. lol.

**Chapter Five**

"Hey!" An earsplitting scream came from somewhere above me. Nudge! I opened my eyes and looked up, seeing an Eraser with his fingers about to close around her throat. I jumped up, suddenly wide awake, and grabbed his expensive boot. He lost his balance, dropping from the branch. He tried to open his wings, but they got caught on a couple branches on the long way down.

Guessing from his screams, I didn't think he'll be flying again very soon. Suddenly, I felt weight on my branch; right behind me. I swung around, punching another Eraser neatly in the jaw.

"Ow." God, what were they made out of? Steel? I _felt_ like I had just punched a brick wall; and judging from the way he was staring at me as he overbalanced, I had just punched something with the _IQ_ of a brick wall.

I let out a yell as somebody grabbed my bandaged shoulder and turned me around, throwing me against the tree trunk. It was Ari. Again. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? As if reading my mind, he grinned, morphing full out.

"Why Mutt, don't you remember? You're training. You've got to come home someday."

I looked up, feeling rage burn through each and every one of my veins. _If the School's my home, then I don't deserve to live._ I thought, already sure that my plan was suicidal and not caring. "My name's not MUTT!" I roared suddenly, aiming a side kick at his gut. Yes, I actually roared. It hurt me so bad every time he said that. I knew who was responsible for my sister death.

His breath left him in a "Woof", and I laughed. It wasn't my usual laugh, not that I'd laughed much in the past or anything, but it was cold and steely, and when I heard myself, I shivered.

No. I'd fight it as hard as I could, but I knew that no matter how hard I tried to keep it at bay, it would take over. I'd no longer be Wolf. I'd be an Eraser. "I won't let you do this to me." I said in a low growl. "Leave me alone. Leave us all alone." I lunged forward, and without thinking, found myself throwing us both off the branch.

We fell for what seemed like an eternity. Me trying to cause him as much pain as possible and him trying not to end up on the bottom when we hit the ground. _Oh yeah. The ground…_I remembered as the sight of the leaf covered grass leaped up before me.

I let go of his shirt, kicking off of his chest as I leaped up as high as I could. I unfurled my wings and pushed them downwards as hard as I could, shooting upwards. Breathing hard with boiling anger, I kept going up, sure that if I met a single Eraser on the way up, they wouldn't survive the encounter. I didn't know what happened to Ari, but I hoped he was dead.

With a 16 foot wing-span, I was sure to hit a lot of branches on my way up. I didn't feel a thing. I was too far gone. Some part of me stayed awake; to keep me from doing exactly what the white-coats wanted me to do.

I broke through the treetops, barely aware that I had shot past the Flock in their own battles. There. The helicopter. I continued forward, increasing my speed. I didn't care what happened to me. I just wanted them dead. All of them. Or at least most. I was a reasonable guy.

"Wolf!" I heard several voices scream at the same time. My wings unfolded all the way and I stopped dead, barely breathing. My senses returned slowly. First my sight, then my hearing. Last was my _common_ sense. I could see the chopper in the distance, already getting further and further away. As I turned away, my rage had cooled and I felt battered and broken.

Now I could feel the sharp pain in my wings every time I moved. Now I could feel my shoulder burning again. Now I could feel just how close I had come to killing myself. It hurt more on the inside. It hurt me that the Flock treated me like one of them. It hurt me that I couldn't bring myself to tell them the truth.

I heard wing beats behind me and turned around, all energy long gone. I saw Max hovering in front of me, an almost worried look on her face. If only. If they knew, they'd never want to see me again. I gave her a weak smile, then felt my eyes close and my wings fold around me.

I needed to get a tighter rein on the whole passing-out thing.

* * *

Yeah, I know it was short, Sorry. I'll put another one up soon.

-Dreamer


	6. Chapter Six

Kaysies: here's the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews. I love 'em.

The story will start picking up soon, don't worry. It gets more interesting.

**Chapter Six**

"Uh...Wolf?"

My eyes snapped open and I sat up, looking around wildly. I was in some sort of cave, and Angel was sitting cross-legged by my side. "How long?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"...A couple days." She said, picking at her tattered shoelace. "Iggy said you'd be fine. Everyone else is outside somewhere." She shrugged, standing up. I tried to do the same, sitting back down as the world spun before me. _A couple days? What happened to me? _Then it all came back in a flood of memories.

_That was too close...What if I had hurt one of the Flock?_

"You wouldn't have." Angel said, her voice breaking through my thoughts. I turned to her, feeling horror rise up within me. _Did she know?_ "You're not evil. It's not your fault that you were taken to the school."

I nearly laughed with relief. She still didn't know. "Thanks, Angel." She smiled and nodded.

"You're welcome."

I let out a deep breath, shaking out my wings. "Ouch." Flapping experimentally, I worked out the kinks and cramps. There was a weird empty feeling at the pit of my stomach, and I recognized it. When I was stuck in the cage with barely enough room to even extend my wings halfway, it was like a constant stomach-ache. Ever since they had given me wings, I had needed to fly. To feel happy. To feel whole.

I walked to the edge of the cave and looked down. There was a steep drop that led to a river, way down. Perfect. Turning around, I faced Angel, feeling sort of stupid. She cocked her head, listening to my thoughts.

_I know what I'm doing. _I directed at her, watching as she nodded again and relaxed. Actually, the last time I had done this, I was trying to kill myself. Once and for all and all of that stuff...

"What?!"

Crap...she must have heard that. I waved and fell. Backwards off the face of a cliff. I leaned back, turning until I was hurtling down headfirst. I spun, corkscrewing downwards without even opening my wings.

Yes, I know I have thrill-issues.

I picked up speed until my vision started to do that weird zeroing-in thing. All I could see was the bright blue water below. Now was the important part. If I snapped my wings out too early, I'd stop dead. That would hurt...a lot. If I opened them too late...well, I didn't want to think about that. Merely a couple feet above the river, I unfurled my black wings and in a fluid movement tilted until I was gliding directly over the water.

I let out a laugh and flapped once. I shot forward, already doing near 200. Seeing the other wall of the valley loom before me, I arched my back, going straight up the rock face. I could see blue sky above me, and headed up. It was one of those things that almost made me thankful for the two giant appendages stuck to my shoulder blades. Almost

Slowing down near the top, I landed, out of breath. I folded my wings halfway, letting them hang loose by my sides. In the distance, I could make out several specks that were too large to be birds and too small to be planes or gliders. The Flock.

Looking around, I could also see Angel flying towards me, her wings seeming to catch the sunlight and hold it. Watching her fly towards the grassy spot I was standing on, I heard wing beats behind me. From the way they sounded, Max was in front. Iggy and Fang were somewhere in the rear.

Wait a minute...how could I have heard _that_? I turned around. Sure enough, I was right! They landed, and I frowned, was this something wolves could do? If so, it chose a weird time to kick in...

"So, Sleeping Beauty decided to wake up?" Max asked, grinning.

"...Sleeping Beauty?" I asked, confused. What the heck was a Sleeping Beauty? Angel giggled from behind me.

"He doesn't know who Sleeping Beauty is!" she said, sounding incredulous.

Iggy brushed past Fang, an exasperated look on his face. "It's a character from a Disney movie...You do know what Disney is, right?"

I thought back. "I think I may have been there...Disneyland?"

"Tokyo, Paris, California, or Florida?"

I racked through my memory. "Sorry...not sure. Florida, I think."

Max shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, I think we should get-"

Nudge interrupted, "Food?"

Gazzy rolled his eyes as Max did the same.

"Food _and_ new clothes." She finished.

"Yay!" Angel and Nudge said together. Max eyed my tattered shirt and pants. I had long since shredded the sleeves of the black shirt, and my pants looked as though the washing machine had gotten a little hungry. Not that I had ever used a washing machine or anything...

* * *

"Nudge and Angel, you're with me. Gazzy and Iggy; don't buy anything explosive. Fang, please grab Wolf something that isn't black." Max ordered. We were at a mall. In the middle of nowhere. I was beginning to think that I'd never make it out of 'nowhere'.

Fang shot me a look. I was almost as tall as him, maybe taller if I stretched my imagination, but at least two years younger. It must have been a weird experience. Max sighed. "The guys' stores are over there." She said, pointing.

"I don't think either of you will find anything in the children's section, so you'll have to skip Gap. Meet back here in ten."

Fang and I both made a weird face at the same time. Max ignored it and turned to Iggy, saying something we couldn't hear.

"C'mon." Fang grunted, turning towards the store that Max had pointed to. I followed, not even glancing at anything that wasn't black, gray, or dark blue. It was weird, but it was like a habit. What was even weirder was that I knew about what was going around me. I'd never been in a mall before, but it all felt familiar.

What the heck?

Fang stopped in front of a shirt that looked exactly like the one he was wearing. I shook my head and kept walking. A shirt above my head caught my eye. It was dark gray, so close to black that it was hard to tell.

The creepy thing was the picture on it. There was an eagle, proud and steady, gliding above a stream. Beneath it, a sleek silver wolf, baring its fangs in pure pleasure as it leaped over the rushing water.

I knew that feeling. That was how I felt when I dived from so high up in the air that I could barely see the ground. I had to have this shirt. Grabbing it easily from the rack, I continued forward, grabbing things that looked like they might fit.

By accident, I hit a shirt rack. I would've been fine with just putting it back, but then I heard a laugh behind me. Dropping the rack, I whipped around, ready to bolt out of there.

Oh. It was just a girl. In a guys' store. _Okay_, then. She had long red hair and green eyes. I was just about to consider calming down when she said something like:

"OHMIGOD!" Except, she kind of shrieked it, and I backed up. "Nick! I thought you moved!!"

Who the heck was Nick? Suddenly, I heard someone step towards me from behind. By the way his foot fell, I could tell it was Fang. There we go with the freaky hearing thing again.

"She thinks you're me." He whispered. I could hear the grin in his voice.

"Nick? Wait...that's a bad thing, isn't it...?" I said, stepping to the side so that she could see him. She blinked.

"Uh...are you guys, like...twins?"

"Yes."

Sure, I'll run with that...

"He's Nick."

"What?!" I glared at him, gaping. Well, two can play at that game. "No, _he_ is!" Confused, the girl stepped closer, and I stepped back.

"Ha!" she said triumphantly, pointing to Fang. "You _are_ Nick!"

"No. I'm _not_." He protested again while I ran for the counter. I paid for the jacket, shirt and jeans and ran with my purchases in hand. I fast-walked out of the store, not stopping to wonder what Fang was going to do about the girl.

I banged right into Nudge, who happened to be leaving some store with tons of jewelry on display.

"Ouch!" Something had stabbed me. Oh. It was just an earring. "Sorry!" I said, standing and holding out my hand. She grabbed it and pulled herself up, picking up her bag and continuing to walk.

"You should be." She said. I stopped and looked at her, then relaxed when I realized she was grinning.

"I am."

It was a nice moment until we saw Max running towards us, nearly dragging Angel along. "Erasers!" she yelled frantically, running towards the exit.

* * *

Review?

-Dreamer


	7. Chapter Seven

I know the quality isn't all that great as of now. But I had no way to completely re-write without losing some of Wolf's...well, wolfness. It sounds cheesy, but I've changed alot since I wrote this, which you can probably tell if you've read my other story. So, I'm trying to keep it as much the same as possible until you hit like, chapter Fourteen. Then it's completely different from my original plot, and writing style. Tell me (when we get there) if it's abrupt, 'cause I might forget to ask. lol.

That kind of goes with Asuterisuku's review. So...yeah. Here's the next chapter.

**Chapter Seven**

Erasers. Again.

They were really starting to get on my nerves. This was a really bad idea. 'Cause, one: I could go ballistic at any moment and start kicking major butt, and two: ...Well, I'll think of the second reason later.

So for now, I'll just kick some Eraser butt. Wow. It's amazing how easy that sounds.

Anyway, back to the butt-kicking. I rammed my fist into a wolf-boy's stomach, following it up with a solid roundhouse kick. _I think he'll be out for a while. _I thought, grinning as I saw Nudge head-butt another Eraser. Suddenly, an Eraser's heavy boot came swinging around towards my head. I ducked, attempting to grab his leg as it went over my head. It didn't work, but I think I may have sprained his ankle.

_Focus, moron! _I yelled internally, as I dodged an Eraser's punch. His fist hit the Eraser who had been sneaking up on me. It was almost funny. Then they both turned on me, closing in. I backed up, feeling someone else backing up against me.

From just the sound of his breathing, I knew it was Fang. Again with the freaky hearing thing... The Eraser he was fighting –Ari- took one glance at us and laughed. I looked right just in time to see Nudge go flying, hitting the opposite wall with a thud. "Nudge is out." I whispered to Fang through gritted teeth.

"The Gasman, too." He said when we heard a yell. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max on her knees, the side of her face covered in blood. My eyes widened and I felt Fang stiffen behind me. He had seen.

I could practically feel his anger at the sight of Max hurt. "Fang, we have to get out of this first." I whispered, hoping he would stay cool.

Ari took a step forward, towards Fang. I could hear him saying something like, "So, you've met. It was bound to happen." He let out a bark of eerie laughter. "After all, you're like, the same person!" he said, taking another step closer.

Now it was _my_ muscles that stiffened. On their own. _The same person? What does he know?_

Fang turned his head slightly, enough to tell me that something was wrong. I looked. Crap. The Erasers had Max... Nudge and Gazzy were still slumped where they had fallen.

Double crap. Where were Iggy and Angel?

Suddenly, I heard a yell and saw a coat rack slam down on Ari's head. He was unconscious before his head hit the ground. Ah. There he was. There was a furious look on his face and rage was burning in Iggy's sightless eyes. Whoa. Man, I would _not_ want to get on _his_ bad side! The Erasers scattered as soon as Ari went down. One even slung him over their shoulder.

"Thanks, Ig." Fang said quietly, already at Max's side. I saw Nudge stirring and hurried over to her. I helped her sit up, wincing as she coughed.

"You ok?" I asked, still supporting her. She nodded and stood shakily. Then panic flitted across her face.

"Angel! She was trapped. I was like, trying to get her, then an Eraser grabbed me!" She started running for one of the overturned benches, and I realized that even though Angel was part bird, she still couldn't have survived having that thrown on her.

I joined Nudge, trying to lift up the heavy bench. I dreaded seeing what was underneath, until my newly acquired super hearing clicked.

"Nudge..." I started, "She's breathing!" I pushed harder, and then felt someone next to me. It was Iggy. Together, we managed to push it off of her. Once Iggy had confirmed that she hadn't broken anything, I lifted her up, leaning her against the wall next to Gazzy. They were both out cold.

I heard a groan and looked up. Max was coming around. It looked like Fang would never let her go. I laughed quietly; Nudge had been right about them. I turned towards Gazzy, who had a split lip and long, shallow gash along his arm. Cleaning it out, I was wrapping it up when he jerked awake.

"Ow! Man, that _hurt_!" I continued, ignoring his protests.

"Sorry." I said, once I'd finished. "I had to. Or would you rather we let your whole arm turn into an infected rainbow of yellows and greens?" I saw The Gasman's expression and grinned. "I was _joking_..." I said pointedly. He let out a breath of relief, looking down at his arm.

People were starting to poke their heads out of the stores and a few brave ones were actually stepping out altogether. Crap. We had to get out of here.

Since no one else seemed to realize that, I spoke up. "Uh...Fang? Iggy? I think we should probably get out of here." Max was sitting up, blood still oozing from the gash near her temple.

Iggy nodded and followed the sound of my footsteps as I started to head for the exit. On the way, I grabbed Angel, seeing as I was the only one who hadn't been unconscious a second ago and strong enough to carry her. Gazzy followed me, wearily glaring at the normal people as though they had personally kidnapped him and turned him into the mutant he was. I was about to say something along the lines of, 'It's going to be ok' when some kid whipped out a cell phone and tried to take a picture.

"Camera!" I yelled at the top of my voice, sprinting through the huge doors with Angel. IT was practically a phobia of mine. Cameras scared the crap out of me. FOr real. Seemed like I wasn't the only one. Gazzy was right behind me and Iggy had a finger hooked into his belt loop. Nudge was right next to me, and I saw Fang lift Max and run. Nudge was carrying a bunch of the shopping bags, and I almost took a minute to ask, "How the heck did you remember to grab those?" But since I was a smart little avian-lupine-human hybrid, I didn't.

"U and A!" Fang yelled, whipping out his wings and jumping up. Because I had freakishly long wings, I snapped them open and kicked off a garbage can, going much faster than anyone else.

Once I was far enough to look like a bird to anyone who happened to be looking aimlessly up at the sky, I waited for the others to catch up. Gazzy and Nudge were first, with Iggy right behind them. Fang was actually flapping; normally he just glided. It was probably because of Max's added weight.

Angel was still out of it. I was hoping she hadn't hit her head or something. Fang led the way. Right now, my directional senses were screwed, so I didn't really care. By screwed, I mean they were totally shot...along with most of my brain. I was having a hard time figuring out which was my right wing and what the difference was between my leg and my arm.

Ok, maybe not _that_ bad, but it was bad.

* * *

After flying for about an hour, I felt Angel try to stretch her wings. "Sorry, Angel..." I said, trying to tell if she could fly yet. A couple of her feathers looked weird, but she looked fine overall. "Can you fly?" She nodded and I could tell she was trying to read my mind to get the details.

_You didn't miss much. Iggy kicked Ari's butt and Max nearly got captured by Erasers. You got stuck under a bench and Gazzy and Nudge got slammed into walls. Me and Fang heard some weird stuff._

"Fang and I." she corrected as I let her go. Yes, a six year old just corrected the grammar of the sentence in my head. Whoa. If that sounded sane, read it again. Angel dropped a couple feet, then glided below me. "What'd you hear?"

_Ari said we were...the same person. I didn't really understand it. _I hastily shut that thought down before I could reveal anything else.

"Did you pick anything up before you were knocked out?" I asked her, not really wanting to think about what that creep had told us.

"Only that they had to finish your training." She looked up at me. "They think you'll be a spy."

Oh, god. Crap. I was silent. I didn't know if she meant it as a question or not. "Don't worry, Wolf. I told you, you're not evil. It doesn't matter what the White coats think."

I felt my throat close up. _Thank you, Angel_. I said, not trusting my voice to work. The members of the Flock were the only ones to ever accept me for who I was. Erasers don't count 'cause they're too stupid to matter.

Was this how I repaid them?

* * *

You know those awesome "mosquito" ringtones that you can use in school cuz teachers can't hear them? Well, I have it! It's soo cool, because it's so highpitched you can hear it over ANYTHING.

The only problem is that my history teacher's only 24 and he can hear it too. XP.

-Dreamer


	8. Chapter Eight

Hola. I'd normally wait for a couple of reviews, but I decided I'd give you more now. I'm trying to get to the good part. Almost there, guys. Almost there.

**Chapter Eight**

"Yes."

"No.

"Yes."

"No."_ Shut up...please?_ I thought as Nudge once again started the whole back-and-forth thing. I was disagreeing, but she didn't seem to get the message.

"YES!"

I didn't answer. It was getting old. Nudge had once again decided to fly next to me. I think it was because I was one of the few people who didn't try to shut her up as soon as her mouth opened. Not that it ever closed or anything...

I simply chose to ignore her. Except sometimes she'd bring up some absurd point and I'd have to say something. This was one of those times. Nudge had decided to point out that I had suicidal problems.

I may be an adrenaline junkie, but saving Angel doesn't count. She was really perfecting the whole falling asleep while flying thing. I had gone straight down, wings closed and everything. That led back to our conversation.

"...yes?" she asked worriedly, not realizing that I was simply ignoring her. Oh crap. She really _did_ think I was suicidal!

"Nudge. Listen to me. I'm not suicidal." I said, the exasperation clear in my voice.

"If you say so..." she said, shrugging infuriatingly.

"He's not!" I heard a voice say angrily. Turning, I saw Angel, an uncharacteristically angry look on her face. Nudge looked taken aback, and I was just plain shocked. "Just stop it, Nudge!"

"Angel, calm down! She was just kidding!" I said quietly, frowning. _What's going on? Angel isn't usually like this..._

She shot me a look, and I knew that she had heard me. I shrugged, or at least I tried. It's hard to shrug while you're flying! "Well, it's true." I told her.

"It's just annoying..." Angel said, breaking off to join Fang near the front. I held my wings open as I caught a warm updraft and floated up. I may not have been a six year old mind reader myself, but I was pretty sure that Angel hadn't told us the complete truth. I wasn't sure, but something that felt a lot like instinct told me that she was lying.

I felt someone's wing tips brush mine and saw Iggy rising at the same speed as me. I figured he was going to talk to me, so I just waited in silence.

_Here it comes..._

"How did you escape?" he said, in a weird voice. I glanced at him and let out a breath. Crap.

"I'm not actually sure. It happened really fast," I started, "They were behind me, and I had to keep running. I think they didn't expect me to fly." I was leaving things out. Stuff like the fact that I was pretty sure that they had let me escape. "I just kept on going..."

Iggy nodded. He understood what I was saying. Most of what I told Nudge was true too, I had just left out the tank and the training. They had actually tried to force me to change once. It had hurt so much.

I had almost gone under too. Then I remembered Katie, and how she fought till the very end. I had to stay strong. For her memory. For myself.

* * *

"Wolf, did you grab anything to eat at the mall?" Nudge asked me. It was getting dark, and my stomach was roaring.

"Don't remind me." I groaned, trying to keep myself from eating my new jacket or something.

"Max, I'm starving!" Angel called, her wings brilliant in contrast to Fang's and mine.

"Me too." Iggy said, somewhere in front of me. I could barely see anything 'cause it was so dark. I was even having trouble seeing my wings. And for those of you that spend all of your time locked up somewhere, my wings are kind of (how do I say this?)...attached to me.

"Me three!" Nudge called.

Max looked back, then down out at the ground. "Ok...there's a town there. We'll land and grab something to eat and maybe find a place to sleep." I nearly sighed with relief. I needed sleep.

She turned and dove, going faster than the rest of the flock. Curious, I followed, trying to match her speed. She saw me and grinned, pulling ahead. _Oh no, you don't._ I laughed and folded my wings, falling.

My vision zeroed-in on the ground below me and, just like that, I was ahead of her. _C'mon...a bit faster... _Snapping my wings out, I glided instead of stopping. _Hey! That didn't even hurt! _I realized with a start. Touching down, I pulled my wings in all the way and waited. A moment later, Max landed.

"You're faster than me!" she exclaimed, panting. It looked like she wasn't really used to that.

I shrugged, "Guess so..." It was no big deal for me. I had gone faster before without breaking a sweat. It took about ten minutes for Fang to land. Everyone followed after that, in quick succession.

" 'Kay, guys, let's grab some food!" Max called, and everyone brightened up real quick. I found that the bird part of the Flock had a bigger impact in them than me. When we found the McDonald's nearby, they each had about three burgers each. Along with fries and milk.

I admit, it was kind of scary. I had a Big Mac, a large fries and Coke. _Angel_ had double that. But I think it may have had something to do with that fact that I had to eat more often. What the heck was that about?

Whatever. By the time we had finished, Nudge was half asleep, Angel _was_ asleep, Gazzy's eyes were closing, and I was yawning.

Max just carried Angel as we looked for a place to stay. I stopped in front of a huge building. It had lions on either side of the entrance, and I really wanted to check it out. I wanted to go in even more when I realized it was a library.

Nudge was about to walk into the front doors when I pointed out that there were no lights on or anything. I was right. It was locked. Instead of coming back down the steps, she just sat down and leaned against the stone.

"I'll go see if there's a way to get in." I offered. Max nodded, and after making sure no one was in sight, I unfurled my wings and jumped up. The building must have had about three stories, 'cause it took me a bit to get to the top at normal speed. I saw a couple open windows, but there were no handholds and no one except for Total and _maybe_ Angel would have fit through them, anyway.

When I finally reached the ceiling, guess what I found out? They were in the process of adding skylights. As soon as my feet had touched the blue sheets, I was running, I didn't know if it would take my weight for too long, and I didn't want to try and find out.

Stepping onto a metal rail, I made sure it was firmly attached to the building before walking across to the edge of another sheet. Yep. It was loose. After taking out a few nails, I slid inside and closed it behind me, remembering to open my wings at the last moment. I landed on the top of a shelf; just in case.

It was completely silent, and I had the insane urge to say something loud. But...I didn't. Instead, I glided over to the door and unlocked it.

"After you, your Tiredness." I mocked, bowing as I held the door. Nudge scowled at me and went inside. Finding the couches like a sixth sense, she collapsed, letting out a sigh. Once everyone was in, I closed the door and locked it again.

It would've been so incredibly stupid if the Erasers could just walk in through the front door. Actually, they'd probably be too stupid to figure out the fact that the door was unlocked...

Wolves. I googled it and clicked on the first link that appeared.

Since we were bunking in a library, and they had computers, I decided to give it a shot. It had been easy to hack into the administrator's account. I yawned again as the web page loaded.

_Endangered...blah..._

_Who cared about how they marked their territory?_ I thought, trying to stifle a laugh. It didn't really work. Max, who was on watch, shot me a look. "Sorry." I mouthed.

On an impulse, I decided to google The Institute for Higher Living. It was something I'd heard about at the school. It sounded like another lab to me. It was also a database.

I got 9,268 hits.

Crap. How was I supposed to sort through this? Then, smart as I am, I found the advanced search option. It took me awhile, but I narrowed it down to about a hundred. Selecting the first one, I started to skim. Stopping at anything that resembled what had been done to us, I kept going. Then I found some links. They were all password protected.

I decided to come back when Nudge was awake. She might have been able to figure it out. I wasn't a genius at computers. I could do the basic stuff; low-level hacking and whatnot, but add in some high-tech stuff, and I was as good as gone.

Then I realized something was different about the next page. The only link that I hadn't tried earlier wasn't password protected. It was all about other institutes that were all part of one research program.

_Research program? Yeah...right._

"Other institutes?" It was almost startling, but I had heard her breathing a second before Max had spoken. My superhearing was turned on again. What was with that?

"They're all over the place." I whispered, pointing out places on the map. There was a dot in one of the square-ish states. It wasn't labeled, but I was pretty sure I knew what it looked like. I probably even knew what it smelled like.

Yep, you guessed it. The School.

"We have to check them out."

"All eight?" I asked. That would take awhile.

"Yes. We'll split up."

I heard a light footstep the second before Fang spoke. It was enough of a warning. "For what?" His voice was barely even a whisper, but I could hear the tension. Max jumped, backing into him. I just pointed at the screen. He saw the dots, read the title, and put two and two together.

He didn't even answer, but somehow, I knew that he was itching to destroy each and every institute in the whole freakin' _world_. Probably 'cause I felt exactly the same way.

* * *

"Ok, guys." Max said, addressing the Flock. Nudge was awake and already hungry, Gazzy was trying not to fall back asleep, and Angel was sitting on a couch next to me. Iggy, I assumed, was awake. His eyes were closed, but he was nodding.

Fang, who was nowhere in sight, had already heard all of this after I tried to sleep. He and Max had started talking after they figured I couldn't hear, but of course, the stupid superhearing had started again.

"Wolf found some stuff online. There are more institutes." She paused, and I could see traces of anger in everyone's faces. "They're scattered all over, but if we split up for a while, we should be able to check 'em out."

"Split up." Iggy echoed. I could hear the question.

Max looked at him, and I could see how much she hated to do this. "Angel, you can stay with me." Angel nodded but stayed sitting. "Iggy and Gazzy; don't blow anything up unless it's absolutely needed."

Whenever my superhearing clicked near Iggy, I could hear the materials rustling quietly in his bag. I knew what would happen if any Erasers snuck up on him.

"Wolf, Nudge. I think I can trust you two to get in and out fast. Just get information. Try not to let them know that you're there." Nudge and I looked at each other and nodded. I looked at Max. All this left Fang.

"Then me." He said, jumping down from the roof onto a shelf. He tossed each of us a several burritos and stayed up there, eating one himself. Even though I was kinda hungry, I decided to save them for later. After all, you never know when it'll be a bad idea to land.

* * *

Please review. Especially since I was nice and gave you two chapters!!

-Dreamer


	9. Chapter Nine

Filler Chapter. I know it sucks. And I know I haven't posted in forever, which is why I'm putting up a bunch really soon.

**Chapter Nine **

Max was giving us directions. I figured Nudge would listen, so I just kind of relaxed. After all, I had a map in my...new bag. Normal humans may be useless, but they sure know how to build a good mall.

"Ok, so...Fang, you take these two. Nudge, you guys take these. Angel and I will check out these, and Gazzy, you get those." Everyone nodded.

"I'll miss you guys." Max said, hugging Nudge and Gazzy. She nodded at me and looked at Fang. I saw the look and nearly cracked up. Yes, they may have been older, and had escaped sooner than me, but come _on_! They couldn't even figure out that they liked each other.

Nudge shot me a glare and I couldn't help it. I waved and jumped up into the air, laughing. She shook her head and followed. "Bye!" she called, getting answering good-byes in response.

She caught up with me and opened her mouth. "Wo-"

"No. Just enjoy the silence." She was hungry. I refused to look at her. If she gave me Bambi eyes...well, let's just say I haven't built up a resistance yet. Crap. I looked. Sighing, I reached into my bag and pulled out a burrito, tossing it to her. I had two left, and we were going to need them if there were any Erasers around.

Fighting takes a lot out of a guy.

* * *

I yawned. Again. I think it was the eighth time in the past five minutes. I was too tired to count properly, and besides, do you even care how many times I've yawned? Didn't think so.

Flying –get this- _quietly_, Nudge yawned too, trying to keep her eyes open. "Tired?" I asked. _Show no weakness...Show no..._My eyes closed. Then I opened them again.

"Yep." Shortest sentence ever uttered by Nudge_. This should be documented._

"Good." I yawned again. "I need to sleep."

"Same here." Second shortest sentence ever uttered by Nudge. I scanned the ground below me. There. A town.

"Motel or tree?"

"Whatever."

"Cool. Land." I said shortly, angling downwards. I was not sleeping in a tree. It took me a minute to realize that Nudge wasn't next to me anymore. Uneasiness rose near the bottom of my stomach. Looking up, I sighed. She just wasn't paying attention. "Um, Nudge? The ground's _that-a-way_." I pointed after I had gotten her attention. With another gigantic yawn, she swerved downwards, mostly gliding. I shook my head and followed her, making sure she didn't pull an Angel and fall asleep halfway down. She didn't.

We made it. Alive. Well, mostly. I snapped my fingers to get the clerk's attention. "We'd like a room. Two beds." I helped that I was about a foot taller than him and looked older than I was. He nodded, startled and started typing rapidly. I tapped my leg, trying not to fall asleep standing up.

"H-here!" he stuttered, tossing me the keys. I grinned, a grin scary enough to rival Ari's. He was probably new. Poor guy. It was about three in the morning and he got stuck waiting for people to show up.

"Thanks." He paled and turned away. I stifled a laugh and glanced at the number written on the tag. 27. Whatever. I threw open the door and stepped inside. It wasn't big, but it was good enough. I still had the cash from Max, so we'd probably stay the night, scout one of the two institutes that we were in charge of, then sleep, then leave. "I call window."

"Fine." Nudge sighed and collapsed into the other bed, falling asleep instantly. I, on the other hand, could never sleep right away. I sat down on my bed, next to the window. I leaned against the frame, letting the breeze play over my face. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing in the relative calm. This was better than a tree any day. Except maybe a day with Erasers. _Erasers_...My thoughts wandered over to a more painful subject. I couldn't ever escape it. It was a part of me.

It's a horrible feeling. Knowing that you're your own worst enemy. The flock wouldn't understand. I couldn't tell anyone. I felt truly alone for the first time since I had met them.

* * *

My eyes opened automatically at daybreak. Force of habit.

Without making a sound, I crept past Nudge to get my bag. Grabbing clothes that weren't ripped up or that smelled, I headed towards the bathroom. I needed a shower. Badly. After a while of just standing in the path of the warm jet of water, I stepped out, slipping into my clothes. That was it.

I looked at the steamed up mirror. If I hadn't met Fang, I probably would have forgotten what I looked like by now. I shook my wet hair, feeling cold drops land all over me. Every time I saw myself, I remembered what I was, and it was hard to restrain myself from smashing the mirror. I don't think the owners of the motel would appreciate that.

Walking back in the room, I tip-toed up to Nudge's bed, where she was still sound asleep. Coming up right next to her ear, I stopped.

"Yo."

She screamed. I swear, it was the funniest thing ever! She jumped up and flung a sneaker at my head. I laughed and ducked, hiding behind the other bed. The next projectile was aimed and found its mark. "Ow!" I howled as a remote thunked me in the head. I heard her let out a scoff and turn around. Grabbing the remote, I shot it so that it went flying an inch from her nose. Nudge stopped dead and narrowed her eyes. Crap. She faced my direction and took a step forward. I slid under the bed, my wings brushing the underside. As she walked around it, I crawled out and came around.

Before I could get ready, she turned and twisted my arm behind me, laughing. "I could feel you going under the bed, stupid!" Oh yeah. She could feel stuff from inanimate objects or whatever. Smirking, I turned and redid the same move on her. "I still win." She growled and shook me off, heading towards the bathroom. I stifled another laugh and waited. A moment later, I heard Nudge's yell.

"Wolf!" The water turned off. "I'm going to kill you!" With another smirk I stepped out to the balcony and climbed down the fire escape. There wasn't a single drop of hot water left, and Nudge was seriously going to murder me. I jogged down to the nearest store, feeling my stomach growl.

I went on the hunt for food, following my nose. I had an amazing sense of smell – like, really amazing. Maybe being part wolf wasn't so bad, I thought absently as the scent of cookies wafted towards me.

No. There was no way I could think that. No way.

* * *

Reviews are loved.

-Dreamer


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